


I'll See You in My Sleep

by sleeperswake



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Takes place after Belle is taken prisoner in The Outsider, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-27
Updated: 2013-01-27
Packaged: 2017-11-27 05:15:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/658385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleeperswake/pseuds/sleeperswake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Regina wasn’t lying about the clerics and Belle can only be brave for so long.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll See You in My Sleep

“I will never stop fighting for him!” She screamed against the iron bars. The queen paid no mind as the carriage proceeded through the forest. The guards didn’t dare look her in the eye, but she heard the whispers of what they called her. The Dark One’s whore. His harlot. His plaything.

 

Sucking in another breath of air, she screamed again, this time for Mulan and Prince Phillip and this earned her a jab from the hilt of a sword. Blood spilled from her temple, but she stood back up, grabbing the bars and called to the queen.

 

“Why are you doing this?!” Belle demanded. “I haven’t done anything to you!”

 

“I’ve already told you; I’m saving you from your own misery,” The queen replied, not sparing Belle a second glance as they head deeper into the forest.

 

“I was going back! I was going to free him! If you let me out—“

 

Rolling her eyes, the queen laughed humorlessly. “Let’s just say I have something else in mind for you.” And with that, she waved her hands, and before Belle could retort, darkness clouded her vision and she felt herself slump to the floor of the ccarriage.

 

Xxx

 

When she awoke, her vision cleared steadily. Throat dry, she attempted to call out but her arms and hands were bound to her sides, leaving rope burns on her wrists. She took in her surroundings-- a bleak cell with a singular square window in the corner that allowed some moonlight in.

 

She wondered how long she was out; her head pounded with an unfamiliar ache that she attributed to magic. Hair messy, she gave a heavy breath to move it away from her vision as her eyes adjusted to the darkness.

 

“Rumpelstiltskin…” She whispered. “Can you hear me? I’m coming, I promise!” Her voice echoed against the walls, but there was no reply.

 

Do the brave thing and bravery will follow, she always told herself and this was no exception.

 

“Hello!” She called, straining her throat to carry her voice. “Is anyone there?”

 

Again, there was no reply and Belle attempted again to wiggle out of her bindings. The result only ended in more injuries as her skin broke and blood trailed down her arms. Sighing, pain overtook her and she was once again thrown into unconsciousness.

 

Xxx

 

“Get up.”

 

Belle blinked back sleep as she took in her interrogator. What she didn’t expect to see was a man clothed in white holding a staff of what seemed to be a cross. His eyes didn’t hold the kindness of a priest, nor did his stance reveal any indication that he was on her side.

 

“Cut her loose, but keep your distance. She’s a feisty one,” Regina said, stepping from the shadows. She wore a different outlandish dress today, and her eyes thirsted with knowledge. Prowling like a lioness, she met Belle at the bars of her cell.

 

“Belle, this is Lord Benjamin. He will be doing the interrogating. If you answer his questions, you will be set free and sent back to your father. Failure to comply…Well, you shall see, won’t you?”

 

Blood rushed back into her arms as soon as her ropes were cut loose, and Belle let out a gasp as she tended to her wrists, rubbing them carefully. The queen was already exiting, and Belle glared at her retreating figure as the cleric nudged her with this staff.

 

“What is the Dark One’s weakness?” He demanded, and Belle swatted his staff away.

 

“I don’t know!”

 

“Liar!” A spark of magic flew from the staff and reached Belle. Crying out, she felt her limbs convulse against the magic and she bit her lip down to repress the pain. The taste of iron filled her and the magic ceased. The cleric looked at her with malice.

 

“I’ll ask again, and this time you better give me a response. What is the Dark One’s weakness?!”

 

“What _are_ you?” Belle spat out, now on the floor, head against the wall. “What cleric tortures others?”

 

“One hired by your father and the queen,” he said simply, and Belle’s heart sunk even further. Her father went to this length to find her? What kind of monster did he make a deal with? Surely not Rumpelstiltskin, and she remembered the queen. Of course.

 

“He also said he does not want you back if you’ve been….tainted by the Dark One. This is why he hired me.”

 

“To cleanse me?!” She shrieked, haphazardly struggling back up as her hands searched the walls.

 

“Some can call it that. Do you have answers now? This does not have to be painful,” he stated, an eerie calmness taking his voice.

 

“Rumpelstiltskin has no weakness,” she trembled with confidence. “He will find me and he will not let you hurt me anymore!”

 

With somber eyes, the cleric waved his staff and something shook within Belle. She heard a scream. No, that was her own. A searing burn swept throughout her body. Her throat was already sore and dry from dehydration, but somehow she managed to cry out and warm tears swam down her cheeks.

 

Do the brave thing and bravery will follow.

 

Do the brave thing.

 

And bravery will follow.

 

Do the brave thing….

 

Her whole body went limp and her head crashed against the floor. It was silent, finally, and the cleric exited the cell with gentle footsteps.

 

A sob shook her, and she allowed a whimper before she fell quiet again. She shut her eyes; this was her only resolve and everywhere else was numb.

 

Gray skin. Not quite straight, but not quite curly hair. She always wondered if it were as soft as it looked, but she never found out. He always smelled of leather, and despite her teasing at his ostentatious dress style, she found it suited him quite well. And his eyes. His abnormally large eyes that frightened many, but this is where she saw truth.

 

_Can’t you see this is true love?!_

Yes, it was. There wasn’t any turning back now.

 

“I’ll see you in my sleep, Rumple,” she breathed, letting go.


End file.
